To find out more about the STEM Ambassadors Programme join us on Monday 5 March at Ysgol Bryn Alun, where we are running a STEM Networking meeting. You will meet STEM Ambassadors from a range of locally-based businesses and industries and find out how STEM Ambassadors can support STEM clubs, national schemes, curriculum and careers.

National Science & Engineering Week is only a few weeks away from 9-18 March.
Visit the British Science Association website (www.nsew.org.uk)
to register your event, download activity packs and quizzes, order FREE promotional
materials, enter competitions, win prizes and apply for an event award. STEM
Ambassadors are available to support school events during NSEW. To find out
more contact Sian Ashton at ambassadors@see-science.co.uk.

If you’re looking to inspire pupils in mathematics this year, the Jaguar
Cars Maths in Motion Challenge may be worth considering. It aims to help
raise standards of achievement across an age range of 9-16 through showing
students that maths is fun! Students involved in the challenge are eligible
for the CREST Bronze Award. This means that provided you register your students
with your CREST Local Coordinator, enquiries@see-science.co.uk, at the beginning
of the project, and your students complete a CREST Bronze profile form throughout
the challenge collating their worksheets and calculations, their hard work
can be recognised with the CREST Awards.

Enter a team for this exciting project linked to the London 2012 Olympics; the launch date is Monday 27 February 2012. STEM Challenge 10 will form part of the much larger Cisco ‘Out of the blocks Maths and Science Series 2012’ project. More information about the project at www.mathsandscience2012.co.uk/.

And… if you’re planning a project of any kind, and need an extra pair of hands and links with the real world, contact See Science and ask for a STEM Ambassador to come and help. Email ambassadors@see-science.co.uk or go to http://networking.stemnet.org.uk/ and click on ‘REQUEST A STEM AMBASSADOR’. This on-line request system is now up and running…

Welsh Schools in pole position!

West and North Wales will be strongly represented at the UK finals of the
F1 Challenge at the Big Bang in Birmingham, following the Wales regional finals
in Swansea and Bangor. The winners in F1 and Bloodhound classes, and the Rookie
Team go on to the Big Bang in March. Teams from schools in St. Davids, St Asaph,
Bangor, Ammanford, Neath and Rhyl will be there in full force.

F1 winners in Swansea, Motion Racing, will also be flying the flag for Monmouth
at the finals. Miles Isted s’Jacob, one of the founder members of the team
at Ysgol Dewi Sant in Pembrokeshire, has since moved to Monmouth Comprehensive
School. He’s still part of the team and keeps in touch via internet links and
social media. Not only was their car the fastest F1 challenger in Swansea,
but the team also won the award for Innovative Thinking, for their work on
the car’s wheels.

Super-slick Team Fast Lane from Ysgol Friars in Bangor presented as all-round professionals, winning the F1 class in North Wales.

The Bloodhound class winners were Speedy Sixes from Ysgol Glan Clwyd and Team Burn from Amman Valley Comprehensive School. Team Burn also won the award for the Best Identity, with their in-school designed and printed logos, stand and marketing items.

Rookie team winners came from Cefn Saeson School in Neath and Rhyl High School.

Teams really went all-out to impress this year on every level. The moustachioed Six Main Men from Connah’s Quay High School deserve a special mention for their best team identity in North Wales, as does the Maelor School for combating technical problems to win the prize for perseverance in the face of adversity.

Other awards in Swansea were presented to Barry Comprehensive School (Tata
Steel prize for the best use of CAD, and best engineered car), Lliswerry Comprehensive
School (best marketing and sponsorship), and Pen Y Bryn Special School (perseverance
in the face of adversity). The judges – including several STEM Ambassadors
– said they were very impressed with the high standard of all the cars.

Swansea schools win technology award

Gowerton Comprehensive has won the school a top UK award for harnessing technology to help boost learning.

Teachers are using cameras and computer technology to record cooking and science lessons live so that pupils can revisit them on their computers at home or even on their mobile phones.

The pioneering work has helped Gowerton become the first secondary school in Wales – and one of just 15 schools in the UK – to win a prestigious Third Millennium learning award. Casllwchwr Primary School in Swansea has also become the first Welsh primary school to receive the honour.

Gowerton Comprehensive Headteacher Peter Harrison said: “It is a delight to see how staff and pupils have embraced these tools and it has added a whole new dimension to lessons and home work”.

A council spokeswoman said: “At Casllwchwr teachers and children are using
iPods, iPads and Apple Macs in the classroom to enable pupils to do everything
from reading and writing e-books to posting blogs and films they have made”.

Head teacher Simon Pridham said: “We were delighted to win the award and are proud to be the first Welsh primary school to do so. We are only one of eight primary schools from across the entire UK to receive the accolade and have also been shortlisted for a UK primary school impact award.”

They will find out if they have won in March. The Third Millennium award is
presented by the National Association of Advisors for Computers in Education.
For more details go to www.naace.co.uk/thirdmillenniumlearningaward.

Steel session for STEM students at Ysgol y Strade

BTEC Students at Ysgol Gyfun y Strade tried their hands at car design as part of a project looking at the steel manufacturing industry.

Two members of staff from Tata Steel – both STEM Ambassadors, who give up their time to help inspire school students – ran a morning session looking at the materials which go into steel making, and how these are used to create products such as cans for processed food. They also challenged the students to make a model car, from oddments of card, paper, wood and metal, which had to carry weights of at least 300g.

Nicola Bennett, packaging recycling communications manager, says she enjoys the positive reaction she gets from students: “In this case it was good to engage these youngsters for a whole morning, using our life experience as well as our industry experience”.

Thomas Baynes, a quality technologist with Tata Steel in Port Talbot says he gets a real buzz out of being a STEM Ambassador: “I like the moment when you’re with the students and they suddenly get things… understand them!”

Teacher Bethan Murphy says the project produced an amazing reaction from the students. She says it helps to have a visitor explaining the real world applications for subjects they study. Mrs. Murphy says the students will use the experience to help with their latest assignment, creating an information poster for a simulated community day at Tata Steel in Port Talbot.

Some of the students’ designs were sturdy enough to take weights of 4kg, despite their flimsy appearance.

Royal Society Partnership Grants

Have you got an idea for a novel and dynamic project involving science or technology? Looking for ways in which to introduce your students to the real life world of scientists or engineers? Need some funding to help your ideas along? Why not try for a Royal Society Partnership Grant!

Twice a year the Royal Society offers grants of up to £3,000 to schools in the UK to enable students to work on a project in partnership with a real live scientist or engineer.

Schools in Wales which have been successful in recent years include Pencoed Comprehensive School, Bridgend; Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech; St Julian’s High School, Newport; Abersychan School, Pontypool and Monmouth School.

The grant can be used to purchase items of specialised equipment and materials which would not normally be available in schools, and so can help provide exciting enrichment opportunities outside the normal curriculum. At the same time it offers students (and teachers) a valuable insight into the work of the partner scientist/engineer, and can really help to raise aspirations amongst those involved.

The current round of funding will close on 24 February 2012, so you might
just have time to get in an application. If not, why not use the time until
the next application date to indulge in some wide ranging thinking? Is there
a project idea you’ve always wanted to get off the ground? This could be your
chance to see it happen! Check out the Royal Society’s website to find out
more information. http://royalsociety.org/education/partnership.

If you don’t already have links with a relevant scientist or engineer, why
not contact the STEM Ambassador programme managed by See Science? This is a
brokerage service which may be able to match your request with an expert working
in the field covered by your planned project. Follow this link to find out
more. www.see-science.co.uk/stem-ambassadors.html.

Since 2000, the Royal Society Partnership Scheme has awarded over £1.1 million to 660 schools across the UK. Maybe your school could one of them in 2012!

Fun day at Cardiff University School of Computer Science & Informatics

We started the day by putting a mixture of year 7 to 9 pupils from Fitzalan School in teams. The teams then played the XP Game which is used by developers in industry to learn skills of Agile Development. The teams had to estimate and plan a set of tasks to try and earn the most points. They then had only three minutes to carry out the tasks which involved sorting cards, blowing up balloons, making paper hats, throwing dice and doing sums. The pupils learnt team working, problem solving, planning and estimation skills whilst playing this team game.

In the lab the pupils were learning how to write in the programming language Python by moving a small robot around the maze on the screen in order to fire at the red target. The pupils were instructing the robot to move left, right, down or up, building up a sequence of moves to complete the task. The pupils were required to plan out the path of the robot and then provide the instructions. During the activities and over lunch the pupils from Fitzalan met current students from the school. In addition to programming the pupils were learning problem solving and planning skills during a fun day at Cardiff University School of Computer Science & Informatics.

Ffynone House School are Top of the Bench

Congratulations to Ffynone House School from Swansea who took the title Top of the Bench at the Royal Society of Chemistry’s South Wales West final – but it was a close-run event. The team from Dyffryn Taf School in Whitland were neck and neck with the Ffynone House quartet in the final, which ended all square. It took a tie-break anagram to find a winner. Ffynone House School now go on to represent the region in the UK finals of the competition.

Commiserations to the beaten finalists from Dyffryn Taf, who contributed to an exciting final. Both schools had won the trophy in previous years. Congratulations too, to the beaten semi finalists from Christ College Brecon and from Bishopston School in Swansea.

Pictured are the teams facing up for the final round, and the winning team, with teacher Hanan Khaleel and Dr Dayna Mason from the RSC.

How you can help us

You can help us by telling us about STEM activities you have organised and
provide us with an insight into what the pupils gained from the experience
by filling in our
online feedback form. All feedback forms will be entered into a prize
draw each term.

Activities

Science Made Simple
Award-winning science communication
company, is delighted to announce a tour week of heavily subsidised engineering
show days in your area thanks to funding from the IET (Institution of Engineering
and Technology). More…

Maths Shows
Science made Simple and Wales Institute of Mathematical and Computational
Sciences (WIMCS) are offering a highly subsidised day
of maths shows in North Wales. More…

I’m a Scientist/Engineer Get me out of here
I’m a Scientist events are running
from March, as well as I’m an Engineer for the first time this March. More…

Free tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup – 22 to 26 May 2012
Your school
can apply for up to 25 tickets for each event in the BT Paralympic World Cup,
the biggest annual multi-sport competition for elite athletes with a disability,
in Manchester. More…

Mission X: Train like an Astronaut
An international challenge for students
that brings the excitement of space exploration to learning about a healthy
lifestyle. More…

‘Survival’
A
free quick-fire mobile game to raise awareness about the world’s
most endangered animals – a great way to encourage children’s curiosity
for the natural world. More…

Dark Sky Wales
A team of enthusiastic educators and astronomers, our range of exciting workshops
and strong industrial partnerships enforce one simple aim: to inspire young
minds. More…

Grants/Bursaries/Awards

Schools Grant Scheme
An IOP/STFC funded scheme
which aims to provide schools with grants of up to £500 for projects or
events linked to the teaching or promotion of physics. More…

Institute of Physics in Wales funding opportunity
The Institute in Wales’s
grant scheme is designed to give financial support of up to £1,000 to individuals
and organisations running physics-based events and activities in Wales. More…

IOP and STFC funding opportunity
If you have ideas for a project linked to
Physics then try for a grant of up to £500 from the IOP and STFC. More…

Institute of Physics’ Public Engagement Grant Scheme 2012
Do you have a fantastic
idea for making physics accessible? Do you want to reach a wider audience?
Do you need some support to make your outreach activity happen? More…

Teacher Awards

TES school awards
These awards celebrate and reward the professionalism and flair of those
teams making an outstanding contribution to primary, secondary and special
needs schools in both the maintained and independent sectors. More…

Anthony Waterhouse Fellowship
The Anthony Waterhouse Fellowship provides an opportunity for teachers to
access funds to help them develop a dormant or nascent idea that will be
useful in the classroom.
More…

Competitions

STEM Challenge 10
The final STEM Challenge provides a contextual and cross-curricular approach
to studying the STEM subjects at 11-14 (KS3/S1-S3). More…

‘Out of the blocks Maths and Science Series 2012’ project
STEM Challenge 10 will form part of the much larger Cisco ‘Out of the blocks
Maths and Science Series 2012’ project. More…

Cascade Competition 2012
Are you a GCSE or A-level student with a passion for physics? The Cascade
Competition 2012 invites you to share your enthusiasm, by working in groups
of 2-4 to produce a video of 3-4 minutes relating to particle physics. More…

Scientists in Sport Anti-Doping Challenge
There are some great prizes to be won! More…

NSEW School Competition – The Great Global Adventure
This out-of-the-box poster competition is a simple way to take part in
National Science & Engineering Week, either as homework or a class
project. More…

International Canssat Competition 2012
The International Cansat Competition 2012 will be held in Madrid in April
2012. More details… http://cansat.leem.es/

Cosmic Futures Competition
With tips and advice from experts, you are challenged to create your own
article, poster or photo essay that tells the general public that: The
British Space Industry is going places. More…

Woodland Trust
This is a good website with activities and competitions. More…

March 2012

Designing the BLOODHOUND SSC – the 1,000mph car
Main Lecture Theatre, School
of Electronic Engineering, Bangor University, 7 March 6pm
The BLOODHOUND SSC
Project is aimed at taking the World Land Speed Record into a totally new
speed regime. More…

National Science and Engineering Week : 9-18 March 2012
Why all schools should register their NSEW events and activities…
all schools who register events will be entered into our fantastic prize
draw. More…

‘From Here to Infinity’ – William Menelaus Memorial LectureBirt Acres Lecture
Theatre, Bute Building, Cardiff University 26 March
The South Wales Institute
of Engineers Educational Trust (SWIEET2007) 52nd William Menelaus Memorial
Lecture in Association with the Learned Society of Wales will be presented
by Professor The Lord Rees of Ludlow OM FRS FREng (Hon) The Astronomer Royal. More…

Free CPD for teachers of chemistry
Thanks to funding from the Wales Institute
of Mathematical and Computational Sciences (WIMCS), the Royal Society of Chemistry
(RSC) is offering a series of continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities
in South Wales. More…

April 2012

Smarter UK – free neuroscience workshops: 2-4 April, 30 April
Science Made Simple, working with Graphic Science and the Wellcome Trust
are delighted to be able to offer free neuroscience workshops in South
Wales. More…

May 2012

Smarter UK – free neuroscience workshops: 1-4 May
Science Made Simple, working with Graphic Science and the Wellcome Trust
are delighted to be able to offer free neuroscience workshops in South
Wales. More…

Learning Skills for Science
The Waterton Technology Centre, Bridgend, 1 May and 26 June
The Quay Hotel, Deganwy, 3 May and 28 June
Free 2 day course, including teacher cover. More…

Enterprising Science
Apply now for this free Science, Maths and Enterprise two-part programme
from BP. More…

June 2012

NPL Water Rocket Challenge schools competition: 20 June, 1.30-4.30
pm
Aim for the sky in our annual Water Rocket Challenge, which sees hundreds
of participants, from school teams to adults, battling it out to become champion.
More… www.npl.co.uk/educate-explore/water-rocket-challenge/

July 2012

Smarter UK – free neuroscience workshops: 6 July, 9-11 July, 16-20 July
Science
Made Simple, working with Graphic Science and the Wellcome Trust are delighted
to be able to offer free neuroscience workshops in South Wales. More…

Futurecade
Innovative online suite of games that allows students to explore how science
and technology impacts on their everyday lives. More…

Resources on the Solar System that could be used with Android devices
Free
app. More…

Classroom Medic Career Finder App
Free app which tells you what the job entails, what qualifications in school
are needed and where to find more info with direct links to the NHS Careers
website. More…

How can a clown, a juggler, a comedian and a rock guitarist inspire the
next generation of scientists?
www.SciEnts.co.uk is
a simple, high quality and brand new ‘one-stop shop’ for teachers looking
to book an entertaining science or maths show. More…

Nuffield Council on Bioethics – biofuels teaching resources
Resources which aim to help students consider the advantages and disadvantages
of different types of biofuels. More…

2050 debating toolkit
Includes resources for activities and workshops. More…